Transforming Public Education: Building New Systems by Activating the Ideas of the Oppressed

Transforming Public Education: Building New Systems by Activating the Ideas of the Oppressed

Jina Kim, Zaid Gayle
Copyright: © 2023 |Pages: 25
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-6684-6898-2.ch012
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Abstract

This chapter explores how public-school policy and practice that does not consider the interest of its diverse student body can have a detrimental effect on marginalized students and their outcomes. The authors propose exploring these school practices through a prosocial lens of those who have been adversely impacted, so education systems can be positively examined and rebuilt. The authors provide personal perspective on their experiences in the public school system in Los Angeles. Author number one experienced public schools as a Black and gifted male student during the 1980s when magnet school programs were attempting to increase enrollment of white students. The second author served as an administrator in the Los Angeles public school system in a predominantly minority community. The authors use their personal experiences to exemplify how public schools have disenfranchised students of color and posit a radical process to improve Black student achievement.
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Introduction

Though the authors’ experiences are very different, they punctuate why public schools in Los Angeles need to meet the needs of one the lowest performing student populations, Black children. This discovery led them on a journey of design and launch the nonprofit, Strange Fruit No More (SFNM). SFNM’s design is informed by the lived experiences of Black students who have navigated public school systems and desire to effectuate positive change for future generations. Through an intentional effort to position the interest and desires of Black students as the priority, the authors hope to reframe the cultural strengths of the Black community as the primary ingredient in learning environments. Using a strength-based approach that empowers Black students to take the lead in designing educational environments, SFNM is leading a qualitative effort toward public school reform.

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